John Wick

Our hero retired after a successful career as a legendary hit man, but as a lark, some crooks took every last thing he cared about. Now he's mad!

Co-directed by David Leitch and Chad Stahelski from an R-rated script by Derek Kolstad ("The Package"), this action/thriller boasts endless gunfire, fisticuffs, martial arts, vehicular mayhem and even some blowie uppie stuff. The script is just witty enough to generate laughter in the screening audience, so everyone went home happy.

We watch:

• Keanu Reeves ("47 Ronin") is our eponymous hero, mourning his lovely wife and the all-to-brief life they had enjoyed together.
• Michael Nyqvist ("Disconnect") Viggo has been in business with Wick so he knows what happens when you get on his wrong side.
• Alfie Allen ("Game of Thrones") Iosef is Viggo's son. He gets on Wick's wrong side!
• Ian McShane ("Hercules") Winston owns the Continental Hotel. Patrons MUST abide by the house rules or pay the penalty.
• Willem Dafoe ("The Fault in Our Stars") Marcus is the hit man hired to put an end to all the violence.
• Lance Reddick ("The Wire") is delicious as the Hotel Manager who combines impeccable manners with wry understatement.

The bad guys are Russian mobsters; the money involved is astronomical; and the violence is endless. Clichés are served up with a straight face (they killed his dog!) and the climactic struggle is (naturally) fought in the rain. To me, this felt more like a cartoon than an actual situation, so I felt free to yawn during the violence and enjoy the humorous bits.

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See what I mean:
http://www.imdb.com/video/imdb/vi884911897
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